In painting the picture plane refers to the flat surface of the canvas or the physical material onto which the paint is applied. It generally refers to the front of the surface image, especially in the case of illusionary depth, although it can also refer to the picture's ground. The illusion of depth and three dimensionality that accompanies certain types of pictures is described as penetrating the picture plane

FORMAT

Format relates to the size and shape of a painting. If it is a rectangle, the orientation can be longer in the vertical dimension (portrait) - or longer in the horizontal (landscape).

PICTURE PLANE